Retreating Shadows: Part 1
by Fandemonium-in-the-streets
Summary: "Why are you so tall? Where has your face gone?" Slenderman has no idea what he's getting himself into when he takes the little girl in the park with him. But something is after him, something cunning. Rated T for gore, but it's very infrequent! Later chapters has mention of Splendorman and Trenderman! Hope you enjoy! Part 1 complete and Part 2 already up and in progress :)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I hope you guys like the new story! This is technically, the first one I ever wrote (minus school projects) and it has had MANY touch-ups done on it since last year. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome and feel free to tell me what you think! I have written out a large portion of this already, so it will be updated again soon...just don't know when yet...im seriously too lazy to set a date for myself to follow. But don't worry, it will be done!**

**ENJOY!**

**WARNING: Gore**

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_Retreating Shadows: Part 1-Chapter 1_

_*****Thoughts spoken by character are in italics*****_

"Why are you so tall? Where has your face gone?" The man looked at the little girl, clutching the sleeves of her shirt with a goofy smile on her face. He looked around him, unsure where she had appeared from. He couldn't see anyone else nearby. He felt a mixture of curiosity and an acute sense of wariness as he assessed her. _She looks safe enough_, he thought,_ just like any other kid._ He was surprised to see that she didn't look frightened in the least, in fact, she seemed quite insistent. This intrigued him because every person that he came across was absolutely terrified of him, although he did suppose it was because he enjoyed making them feel that way. It was his face he delighted in scaring them with the most, with no eyes, mouth, nose or any facial markings, he was quite a sight. A sharp set of cheekbones that hollowed out and milk white skin was all his face had. He looked rather charming in his opinion.

He pointed to his face with an extremely long, pale finger and the little girl made a strange noise between a gasp and a giggle before saying hurriedly: "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" the man bent down and patted her head with a massive, pale, spidery hand that had long thin fingers that were too sharp on the ends to touch. He caressed her head with his palm she tilted her head, humming at the contact.

He stood back up again, a staggering seven feet in height and surveyed the children's park they were in, looking for the little girl's parents. He wasn't worried that people might see him; he was well concealed in the trees that surrounded the park. It also happened to be right next to his forest that surrounded the small town of Westlington.

"What is your name? How can you see without any eyes? Do you trip when you walk?" asked the girl again with more urgency. He noticed the stick in her small little hand she held up to him. He smiled in his special featureless way. His shoulders shook slightly with his quiet laughter and the girl joined in too. (Even though he would never admit it to anyone in a thousand years, it was nice to have someone who didn't have a vendetta against him take an interest.)

It was considerably comical with the girl reaching as high as she could, holding a stick about half a meter long. She didn't even reach halfway up his thighs (_this is a particularly small one,_ thought the man, perplexed_._). He bent down again and took the stick from her and wrote in the dirt: _My name is Der Ritter, though some others call me; Der Gro__β__man or The Operator. But most call me Slenderman._

**"****I don't need a mouth to talk to you either." **The girl gasped as she heard a voice inside her head. It seemed to have come from the tall man, but he didn't have a mouth, so how was he talking to her?

"Hmm." the girl mused for a second, then let out an exasperated sigh and said,

"I can't read some of those words," She whined, pointing to the ground, "but I'll call you Slendy! I wish I could see things with **my** eyes closed! Actually…," Slenderman drew in closer to her, interested in what she had to say, "I'm scared of the dark, and being able to see would fix that!" Slenderman feeling disappointed, drew away from her, and said:

**"Thank you. I like that name." **He thought she would be a bit more interesting.

"You're very welcome Slendy!" the little girl exclaimed cheerily. Slenderman noticed that she looked confused for a while before resuming her normal expression of what appeared to be a curiosity (Although Slenderman wasn't quite sure of that yet).

Turning away from the girl, Slenderman looked around the park again, trying to spot a pair of adults who were likely to be the girl's parents. She jumped around him, shouting joyfully and laughing wildly. Getting annoyed with her carry on, he turned around angrily, and searched for the cause of her exuberance. He couldn't find one; she appeared to be laughing at nothing. _This could be a long day, _thought Slenderman to himself gloomily. He reached down and held her arms by her side, and covered her mouth with his hand. She stopped moving immediately, her giggles muffled.

He let go of her after a bit and looked around the park again, trying to find any adults without children next to them. After a while he said:

**"Are you going to stay with me all day, or do you have parents to go to? I have things to do."**He was hoping she would point out where her parents were, but she just squealed and clapped her hands. He assumed this meant she would be staying around a while longer.

Slenderman stood up again and scoured the park once more for likely candidates. Concluding that he would have to go out and look for them himself and just about to grab her arm, he noticed she had a strange expression on her face. She looked like she was in a mix between deep thought and pain. Her face was screwed up in what looked like a rather uncomfortable position and her hand was on her forehead, little fingers splayed out across her brow. It was a rather strange look for her plump, youthful face.

"I'm bored!" the little girl suddenly whined in annoyance, then, in a unexpected mood change, her whole demeanour went from irritated with her arms crossed to happy and clapping her hands in excitement. Slenderman found this quite amusing, recounting the last time he had laughed at a child. That was quite a different context though. "I know! We can go for a walk together! You can tell me what you're like on the way," Slenderman thought about this uncertainly, "Ooh, you can carry me!" He didn't like this part of her idea at all.

_She may be simple and annoying, but not completely boring. I think I can handle __**one**__ day with her around, _Slenderman thought to himself. He was starting to grow an interest in her, watching her clap and dance around in glee. He still thought she was too noisy, but he decided to keep looking for the child's parents as they walked together. He might be able to learn something from her. There were many things about human children that still confused him.

He shook his head when she asked him to carry her again and she stamped her feet angrily. She sat down in the dirt and made a strange snuffling noise that confused him greatly. (_Is she swallowing her tongue?_) He thought_. _Then she began crying loudly, and he nervously looked around him, being sure as to no one in the teeming park heard her. Seeing some parents glance their way, he bent down so his knees were resting in the dry soil, getting mad that his pants were becoming dirty. _I really shouldn't be bending down_; he thought to himself, _my suit's getting filthy._

She stopped whimpering and looked up at him, wiping the tears off her face. (He sighed, exasperated by the girl)She saw him kneeling down and hopped up, springing onto his back like a tiger. She giggled wetly and Slenderman swore he felt droplets run down his neck. The parents, not seeing anything, turned away from them and Slenderman breathed a sigh of relief.

As he stood up again with ease, he placed the little girl on his shoulders; and then looked around cautiously for anyone facing their direction. He knew it would create a large stir if he was seen. He didn't want another Germany 1792 situation. _The father got way too close for comfort_, he thought to himself grimly.

As the little girl shrieked and laughed at being up so high (_Is this what Slendy sees_? She thought to herself, _this isn't so scary, it's fun!)_ Slenderman mused over whether he should dump her in the park and leave or take her to his cabin in the woods. Slenderman was sure she would offer a lot of information to him, but he didn't want to busy himself and overdo it. He had already taken two children in the past year and attacked a woman in the street last month. He didn't want to the public getting too paranoid and locking up their kids. After a while of feverish thinking, he realised he was making mumbling sounds in his throat and turned his head to check she hadn't heard.

She seemed preoccupied with looking down at the ground, his long and thin (but by no means frail) legs taking large steps. Slenderman continued to debate with himself over what to do with her, the temptation growing stronger and stronger to just change direction and walk into the woods with her still on his back. But he kept walking around the edge of the park, just behind the first line of trees.

It was as he was winding in between all the trees surrounding the park and still talking to himself when he realized the girl was looking straight down, staring at his chest. He craned his neck and watched her, as her eyes trailed down lower to his long, pointed black shoes and then back up again to gaze at where his face would be. She wore a puzzled expression and Slenderman pondered what she was thinking about. She asked suddenly;

"Why are you wearing a suit? You're not going to a funeral are you? Why is it black? You look so smart! Or do you work in an office like Daddy used to? He did work in an office, but now he builds stuff. Does your daddy build stuff?"

Slenderman wasn't sure how to respond. _She's asking so many questions! But then again_, he pondered; _all the clever ones do._

He stopped walking and looked down at himself, observing the clothes he was wearing. It was a simple, yet smart, jet black suit, white shirt and a black tie. His black dress shoes were pointy at the end and had laces which were tied in neat bows. He stayed still too long for the girl's liking and she huffed. Slenderman turned around and saw her face, thinking she looked amusing when frustrated. He would have to remember that for later.

"**Well," **he said, continuing his stride again, **"I guess I just like these clothes the best." **Truth be told, it was the only set he had. It was his father's, passed down from generation to generation. He was the only one of his three brothers to get the suit. One had decided to pick their own attire to wear for life, and the other chose to make his own clothes out of earth fabrics. A tedious task, as Shadow beings didn't stop growing until they were at least two thousand years old, but his brother seemed to enjoy it nonetheless. Slenderman realised while he had been thinking, he was getting closer and closer to the forest edge. He withdrew further into the trees. He could have made himself invisible to everyone, but it would have limited the chances of him meeting children. The girl on his back was evidence of it.

The girl wriggled on his back and asked to be put down which he did, still caught up in his thoughts. As he busied himself with obscuring themselves from the view of the people, he saw the girl getting closer to the edge of the trees, dancing and twirling happily. He sprouted a long, thin, black appendage from in-between his shoulder blades and it slithered silently through the air over to her. It wrapped itself around the child's surprisingly small waist. She squeaked in surprise as suddenly a black, shiny tentacle wrapped itself around her and swiftly heaved her backwards, Slenderman being careful as to not hit any tree branches.

He realised far too late that the girl's cry of surprise would have carried to the adults and they would be sure to come and investigate. He gazed through the trees out into the clear and could see some women walking towards the trees all chatting happily still. The girl looked up at Slenderman with her arms crossed and a furious scowl on her face.

"Why did you do that?" she declared angrily, "You could have hurt me!" Slenderman shrugged his shoulders as a crude apology. "**Stay quiet." **He said gruffly, thinking quickly about what to do next, all the while listening intently for sounds of people approaching. He realised that if the women found him, there would be a **lot** of panic, especially if he was seen with a small child, he did look rather sinister after all. He had been seen before with children and he knew there were people looking for him. He enjoyed teasing the ones stupid enough to venture in his forest in their quest for him, but the smarter ones were starting to get too hot on his tail for comfort.

He knew it would make things extremely simple if he wasn't seen by the women, so he thought of ways to be avoided. _I could wipe their memories,_ he thought, _but the women could be left with side effects and people who know what they are looking for could recognise them. I don't want to have to kill the women, but it would make things so much simpler! And I really don't want to get all bloody! But I need to get rid of them…and...well I guess I don't want the girl to see such violence._

Deciding a course of action, he said in one long breath, **"I am going to pick you up and put you in that tree," **he pointed to a very high up branch and continued hurriedly,** "do **_**not**_** look at down at me and do **_**not**_** make a noise. I'm going to play a game with the people coming; it's called Who Can Scream the Loudest?"**

He knew the name was cheesy but it was the best he could come up with under the tense conditions. The girl looked up at Slenderman's smooth head and nodded saying quietly: "Okay, I'll be quiet. But why can't I look down? I want to play the game too!" Slenderman groaned in frustration. This was taking too long; he could hear the hushed voices of women approaching where they were huddled together. They had stopped chatting and were moving through the foliage, listening for the sounds of anything.

He didn't give a reply, instead he just picked her up and stretched himself, a huge twenty feet tall and placed her on a thick branch close to the trunk. After making sure that she was secure and had her eyes closed, he brought himself back down to eight feet and prepared himself for the worst.

He spotted the women walking in a single file line after a tense thirty seconds. He took one last glance up to make sure the girl was still holding onto the tree. _What will I do with her when this is all over? _He thought as the woman in the front of the line saw him and screamed. He made the first blow to an older woman's abdomen with a tentacle, savouring with sick pleasure the feel of warm blood all over his hands. _Oh,_ _how I enjoy this! _Slenderman opened up a split in his face, full of jagged, sharp teeth and laughed in elation. It echoed for miles around and the little girl in the trees' eyes shot open staring wildly into the forest.

He realised that the young girl above him was screaming along with the women down in front of him. He wasn't sure whether she was playing the game or not.

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**AN: You guys liked it? Don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey everyone! Here is chapter 2! I've noticed it seems to ramble on quite a bit in this chapter so im sorry if you get a bit bored. I've done my best to fix it, but since I wrote all of this and a few chapters more awhile ago, there's only so much I can change without having to change everything else! However, please enjoy!**

**WARNINGS: Gore**

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_Chapter 2_

_*****__Thoughts spoken by character are in italics__*****_

He realised that the young child in the trees above him was screaming along with the women down in front of him. He wasn't sure whether she was playing the game or not.

He wrapped his long spindly fingers around the last woman's thick neck and he extended himself up to the tallest parts of a tree. He then shoved her roughly into the thick branches of a pine, stepping on some of the lower ones to get even higher. At almost twenty five feet off the ground he reached back and impaled her on the highest branch, blood making his hands slippery. Still smiling and laughing euphorically on the carnage he had caused, he jumped down onto the ground and gauged the bloodshed that had been brought upon the unfortunate women.

Slenderman noticed a ringing in his head and realised that the small girl high in the trees had been screaming with such volume and intensity that it would have alerted everyone for miles around. _Well, this is a nuisance. _he thought. The attack was supposed to be swift and quiet but as soon as he stepped into view, the stupid women had launched a full audio attack. He would have to disappear quickly before more people rushed over to inspect the cause of the noise. He could already hear shouts and sirens coming from the park.

Still basking in the after-glow of the slaughter, he looked up an- _Oh, no_. He thought. The small child that had spent the majority of the day with him, (and he was still debating on whether to take her or leave behind) was looking at him with wide, staring eyes. He couldn't quite assess the emotion in her face but it was certainly not happiness or curiosity. He wasn't sure what to make of this, if he ended up taking her away into the forest (which a part of him wanted to do), a bit of psychological damage like what she just endured would be fine and even beneficial. But if he let her go (which would be smarter because he didn't want to draw attention to himself) she would definitely draw suspicion from people investigating him and that he did not want at all. It was a difficult problem, if he took her away, it would attract attention to him. If he let her go, she would attract attention to him.

Slenderman grew taller and reached up to her with his long arms and sat her upright again. In her terror she had slipped slightly and was sitting precariously on a branch. _She looks kind of….frazzled. _He thought. Slenderman noted that her eyes were just open and had glazed over. She was also drooling slightly. _She must've passed out._ He poked her gently in the ribs to rouse her. She mumbled something and fell into his open arms.

He lifted her up from under the armpits and carefully lowered her to the ground so she was sitting, propped against a tree trunk. As Slenderman looked on to the resting girl, he thought hard about what to do next. He could hear the sirens in the streets and he could see the people about fifty meters away shouting and looking in their direction.

He thought the best thing to do at that moment was to take up the dead bodies up into the trees like the first woman and leave them there. It had confused the police before, he was certain it would work again, though he did worry about the people looking for him. They would recognise the disposal method and know it was him; there was one man he did have to be **very** careful about dealing with, he was cunning and smart. But Slenderman did ever so enjoy seeing the government dance trying to solve the puzzles he left behind. When it came to the crime squad there was nothing he loved more than mocking them. He decided to think about the girl after the corpses were disposed of.

He glanced at the unconscious girl on the leaf litter once more; he picked up the first body piece and started the lengthy work of lifting the dead humans up the trees. (_It seems far too long since I last did this!_) He didn't find it difficult work at all, in fact, he could have easily picked up all six women lying on the ground at once and lift them effortlessly.

The problem was that in his excitement of a massacre he didn't think about the clean up after the fun was over, meaning he had ripped several of the women apart and threw bits of them everywhere. It was messy work with his skin blood stained and his face covered in disgusting body juices. His suit was drenched in blood, especially the arms but he knew it would be clean later; he took off his jacket and wrung it out, wet goo dripping from it. He was extremely fond of his suit; it fit him perfectly and kept him warm when he needed it to which was important as when he got cold, it weakened him greatly. Slenderman loathed washing the white, smooth, leathery surface which was his skin. It always took forever and sometimes he made himself bleed because he had to scrub so hard. One time he got a nasty infection, and he had rest in his brother's home for a week while it healed. Slenderman knew nothing about medicine, that was his brother's forte.

It took him a few minutes to complete the work of dragging the women up the various trees and securing them there. When he had finished he carved a circle with an "x" going through the centre into each tree using his sharp finger. He washed his hands and face in a dirty puddle nearby, knowing he would have to do a more thorough job later. He then came back to the little girl and found her still unconscious, head drooping onto her chest. He decided to move to a safer place away from all the people and decide what to do with her there. He picked her up and started walking, increasing the pace significantly when he saw people close by.

He ran far into the woods and continued running, moving further and further away from the town. After two and a half hours of travelling, he couldn't hear or see anyone, so he decided it would be safe to stop for a while. He laid the girl down on the ground and walked away, rubbing his sticky hands together. He was desperate for somewhere to wash himself. The mixture of brown, clear and red fluid on his hands and face had created a nauseating stench and he was anxious to rid himself of it. He found a small flow of clear water and peeled off his jacket, shirt and tie from his body, dumping them on the ground. He dipped his hands into the icy water and began to scrub. He scrubbed his face and hands fiercely until his skin was pink and raw. The juices were all gone from his body, but the smell still lingered slightly. Slenderman knew from experience that it wouldn't be completely gone for a day or two, so he picked up his now clean and dry clothes. He buttoned up his shirt, redid his tie, making sure it was straight and put on his black jacket, doing up the two buttons.

He walked back to the girl and wasn't surprised when he found her still sleeping. Slenderman sat down on a tree log and thought about what do to with her. He thought while the sun slowly lowered in the sky and he thought long and hard as she murmured and moved in her restless sleep. Slenderman finally decided to just let her go home. He could always hide in his forest if the investigators grew suspicious and when he thought about it, he realised the chances of them finding him anyway were small. He had no idea if the girl would remember him and he didn't particularly care. He also reasoned that it wasn't like he would never get another chance to capture children; it was only this one he was letting go. The risk was simply too great to keep her. He wanted to be able to come back here in a few years' time and steal from here freely, not have to cross it off his destination list because he got too greedy.

With the girl still out cold and nobody to occupy him, he became bored after two hours of sitting down, standing up again, drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick and simply staring at the small girl. He twiddled his long thumbs and waited for darkness to come. After waiting for more hours than he would care to count, he decided to find some clean water. He was sure that he made that little stream from before undrinkable and he was certain she would be thirsty when she did eventually wake up.

Knowing the woods like the back of his hand, he made a beeline to a flowing stream about twenty metres away and inspected the water to make sure it was clean. Shadow beings like Slenderman did not require food and drink as often as humans did. In fact, he only needed to eat about one meal per month. He ate whenever he was bored and something (or someone) was unfortunate enough to cross his path. When he ate, he would split open the skin where his mouth would be and take large bites out of things, swallowing them whole like an animal.

He could mould his skin; such as his limbs and tentacles, to any shape he wanted, so his mouth could be small and petite, or wide, gaping and horrifying. He could also smile when he wanted to, create sharp teeth, or just have empty gums (which he and small children found quite amusing) or make his mouth so wide, it reached all the way to the back of his head. The only thing he couldn't do with his mouth was talk. He didn't have a larynx. He didn't mind this though; he managed well enough without this ability.

Instead of talking, he was telepathic. This meant he could talk to people in their minds. It was very useful in psychological torture and also very handy because, unlike sound, you can't tell where the voice in your head is coming from. It also allowed him to communicate with his family without having to be near them. It had been a long time since he talked with them though.

Slenderman came to the conclusion that the water was safe to drink and walked back to the little girl. She was still sleeping though her eyeballs were moving under her eyelids; she was in REM mode, meaning she was dreaming. Slenderman considered entering and playing with her dreams, though he decided against it. He really couldn't be bothered. She probably wasn't dreaming anything interesting anyway.

A while later, the small girl woke up at the sound of Slenderman rustling around in the bushes looking for another stick to draw with as he broke his last one with his hands. He turned around and saw her staring at him intently. After a few awkward moments he decided to approach her. He brushed some of the leaves and twigs out of her hair and she flinched visibly, jumping back and batting his hand away. Slenderman recoiled; he didn't want to alarm her by being forceful. Slenderman had planned on taking her back to town awake and happy so that parents didn't suspect too much.

As the girl looked around, surveying her surroundings, Slenderman said softly, **"How****are you feeling**_**?**__"_ She swivelled her head suddenly to look at him, her eyes wide in fright. She jumped up and started stumbling backwards to try and get away from him.

Slenderman stood up from his kneeling position and he took several 'small' steps towards her. As he was advancing, he hit his head on a branch and he stopped immediately, grunting in pain as he massaged his head with his hand.

The little girl stopped walking backwards and started laughing. As she clutched her sides and gasped for breath, she tripped over a log and fell over, landing on her back. She was still laughing heartily and Slenderman screwed up the skin on his face giving her a disgruntled look. He ducked under the offending branch and moving forward to help the little girl up off the floor.

He moved slowly towards her, as to not frighten her again, and held out his hand for her to take. She stopped laughing and became serious, looked apprehensively at Slenderman's hand. After a few seconds, she took his hand cautiously and shrieked in laughter as he pulled her up by the arm two meters high and gently lowered her to the ground.

Slenderman asked her again, happy that she wasn't scared of him anymore, "**I said, how are you feeling?"**The girl nodded at Slenderman before her becoming tired again, plopping herself down heavily on the ground and drawing her knees up to her chest.

Slenderman recognised what this action meant. He had seen his fair share of distressed children and this was what one of the ways they comforted themselves when presented with a difficult situation. _At least she isn't wailing loudly like some of them. _Slenderman thanked who ever humans thanked that she wasn't shrieking and howling with misery.

He moved forward and sat down across from her crossing his legs_._ He groaned in awkwardness and shifted around for a few moments until he decided to rest on his knees. The little girl looked at him with a dirty, tears streaked face and said: "I'm thirsty, hungry and tired Slendy. I want to go home." She sounded absolutely wretched. He did find it strange how she was telling him this. It was almost as if she wanted him to do something about it, which showed some level of trust which astounded him.

He knew he shouldn't care so much for her. He's going to be dumping her home tonight. But after a few seconds of internal debate, he reasoned with himself that the least he could do was get her home safely and with a full stomach. He didn't know why he felt like she was his responsibility; she voluntarily talked to him and agreed to be with him. _It's not my fault she's in this situation. _Withhis thoughts settled Slenderman stood up, taking the little girl's hand in his own massive one and started walking towards the water.

The girl half ambled and was half dragged across the ground, with Slenderman holding her hand, keeping her up-right. After what felt like forever of untangling the girl's snagged shoelaces from bushes and listening to her incessant questions. (_She certainly seems to be regaining her energy, _thought Slenderman, torn between frustration and **extremely** reluctant affection.) They finally reached the stream of clear, cold water.

Some of these abrupt declarations were: "Hey Slendy, you never said why you're wearing a suit! So….why? Hey Slendy where are we going? Hey Slendy, Did you know I turned **seven and a half** last week? Hey Slendy, did you know that I'm the tallest in my class?" Slenderman found this particular statement hard to believe considering when she stretched out earlier that day holding a half a meter long stick, she hardly reached his mid-thigh. He had a strong inclination to believe she was lying.

As the little girl, scooped water from her hand up to her mouth to drink, Slenderman moved to an adjacent tree and sat down on one of the branches, the wood groaning slightly as it took his small weight. He looked at the sky and calculated how much more time they had to wait for the darkness to come. While he had been waiting for the little girl to wake up and during their walk to the stream, the sun had steadily been going down and only a small sliver was still visible over the horizon. A few minutes later, filled with the sounds of insects chirping and greedy slurping of water, the little girl finally stood up from her kneeling position and wiped her mouth on her dirty, tattered sleeve. Slenderman asked if she was ready to go and she nodded with a distant look on her face. He wondered what he was going to feed her. As soon as he thought this, a shattering headache came on and Slenderman found a large lump where he had walked into the tree branch. He cursed.

Slenderman reached out his hand so they could trudge towards roads that lead into town; she stepped forward and took his hand rubbing her eyes and yawning as she did so. After some time of plodding through the thick undergrowth of the forest, letting the girl's increasingly loud chatter wash over him, Slenderman spotted a group of people in bright blue suits, rolling police tape through the trees. Slenderman groaned in annoyance. _Police. They've sealed off the area; they must've discovered the bodies in the trees I left for them._ He scanned the way around the police tape, trying to find a detour to take around the forensic unit. He held the girl's hand tighter and looked down at her.

She gave an inquiring look back up at him and he started running through the trees again, she gasped as he hoisted her up high above all the branches that lay on the ground. They covered quite a lot of ground and within a few minutes they were very far away from the group of twelve policemen, next to the road that lead back into town. When he stopped the little girl snorted in irritation.

"Slendy! My pants and shoes are all muddy now!" he looked down the where she was pointing and chortled at the big, wet mud patch splattered all up her legs, It even reached up to her waist. Her shoes were completely brown and covered in leaves, as were his shoes and lower legs. (Though Slenderman didn't mind this very much, they'll be clean later) Her shoes gave no resemblance anymore to the little pink and white sneakers that once hugged her feet. He shrugged his shoulders, struggling no to laugh and she looked up at him with a face that made him lose it and burst out, his mouth opening, revealing a gaping, cavernous hole. He stopped quickly though as the laughing made his headache worse. She stared at his open mouth, mesmerised. Questions burst inside her head and as his mouth sealed up again she realised she would have to wait for another time. They started off again and Slenderman let the largely one sided conversation wash over him once more. The questions were now mainly focused on what his favourite foods or colours were. He didn't provide any answers.

Half an hour later and Slenderman was contemplating picking her up, placing her **very** high up in a tree and just walking away. She was whining, huffing and generally, in a awful temper. Coupled with his throbbing headache, he was exceptionally grumpy. To all of her complaints he just breathed deeply and continued staring straight ahead. It was all he could do to stop himself from shouting horrible things at her. He just calmly assumed complaining was what children did for no apparent reason. He thought about the joyous moment when he would be alone again.

After half an hour of non-stop moaning about cold she was and how he was crushing her hand, (Slenderman suspected that she was just in a **really** bad mood as he was hardly touching her.) She stopped and stamped her feet. She complained about anything she could think of and was talking nonstop "How much longer Slendy? My feet **hurt** Slendy! I'm all muddy Slendy! My feet are completely wet! I'm really thirsty Slendy! Why are we in the woods Slendy? Where are we going Slendy? I'm **cold** Slendy!" He decided it was time to comply with her requests. _Anything to shut her up for a few minutes and get me some silence._ He took off his jacket and handed it to her, stopping her complaints of being cold. It looked comical as she draped the absolutely massive article of clothing over her shoulders. He was too grumpy to think it funny.

Soon Slenderman made a short detour from their track and led the grumpy child to a small brook that continued on from the creek before to drink from again. Once she stood up after slurping more water down she said dramatically: "Please carry me Slendy! My feet hurt **soooo** much!" After she said this she stretched out both her arms as high as she could with a big bottom lip sticking out and huge, tired eyes pleading to be picked up. Slenderman sighed internally and bent down. He took off the jacket from her shoulders and put it back on again, doing up the buttons once more. He picked her up from her armpits and hoisted her to his shoulders again_. She better not think of me as her chauffer._

As he straightened up again, she snickered quietly and Slenderman wondered whether she just put the whole act on just to be carried. After she giggled sneakily as they started walking again, he concluded with an angry huff that she had indeed been lying, though he didn't put her down.

As he made his way back to the road that led into town, the little girl said curiously:

"It's too dark for me to see Slendy! How come you can see? How do you do it? I really wanna' see in the dark! I'm scared of the dark! Did you know that? Come on, stop walking, I can't hear you when your feet is crunching all the sticks n' stuff," Slenderman nodded his head in response as she sat on his shoulders, behind his head. He hadn't really been listening, just nodding when she stopped for a breath. Slenderman didn't stop walking and she hit him furiously. He put her down roughly and looked at her, the skin where his nose would be screwed up in rage.

She stomped, pacing back and forth, and as he bristled with anger, he questioned himself why she would hit him. He replayed the last few seconds of babble she'd said in his head and thought. _It was something about seeing in the dark…I've completely forgotten…._

"Aww, Slendy!" the girl whined after a few seconds of trudging, and then proceeding to giggled, her anger disappeared "I'm cold again! Can I have your coat? It's super warm!" If Slenderman had eyes, he would have rolled them right then and there. He did find this girl's chitchat quite endearing but it had passed that point long ago. He reluctantly handed his coat over again saying, "**Just **_**don't**_** get it dirty."** She nodded and smiled happily, reaching up for the coat.

After she had put it on, she started chattering again about nothing important. He made a shushing action with his finger to the girl and she giggled before saying: "Ooh, is this the Quiet game? My Mummy plays this game with me all the time! I **aaallwaaays** lose!" The little girl then said in a hushed whisper "I think Mummy cheats!"

Slenderman nodded eagerly and gave her a tight lipped smile to indicate this was in fact, the very same Quiet game. The little girl mumbled something before falling silent. Slenderman wrapped the coat around her tightly and held her close to his chest. He took this opportunity to breathe deeply and enjoy the peace of his forest at night while he could. His headache had started to calm down, but was in no way gone. The sun had now completely disappeared creating complete darkness in the forest. The little moonlight the trees allowed through their branches shone against Slenderman, making his skin and shirt glow pale white. The cool air felt pleasant on his still raw skin and the light breeze ruffled the girl's messy plaited hair, tickling his neck. He shifted her slightly and she mumbled quietly.

He moved her around so he was comfortable and strolled slowly for another uneventful hour down through the forest, parallel to the road. As he reached the outskirts of town, he looked down to check she was alright before continuing on, only to find her asleep in his arms. Slenderman scolded himself for being so naive. _Of course she's sleeping! Why else would she have stayed so still and quiet for so long? It is probably best she stays sleeping; I don't think I'll be able to stand any more meaningless prattle._

Slenderman looked at her dirty, but peaceful face before glancing up again to see a man walking down the street. _A little fun won't hurt, _he thought deviously_, besides, I deserve some entertainment after today._ He remembered the girl's never ending stream of questions, untangling her tiny shoelaces from sharp thorned bushes every five minutes making his hands bleed, scrubbing his skin raw and hitting his head on that branch causing a horrible headache. He definitely deserved some relaxation time in his opinion. The girl certainly didn't make his day dull at all like he had first thought.

Slenderman realised that he had gone all day without even learning the child's name, so he decided that the first thing he would do when she woke up is to ask her name. It would madden him to no end if he never saw her again and didn't learn her name. With that small matter settled, Slenderman gently laid her down on a nearby park bench, draping the jacket over her before moving out into the centre of the path the man was walking down.

The orange street lamps cast an eerie glow through the light fog and onto the buildings. Slenderman watched the young man fiddling with something in his hands as he created an atmosphere of unease. He stretched his legs and arm, keeping his torso short, creating an overall height of ten feet. His long fingers scraped the ground, creating noise similar to fingernails on a black board. He stood in the middle of the path, tall tree branches brushing the top of his head. He was certain that the man (_approximately mid-twenties, _he thought) would look up at him any moment.

Slenderman created an impression in the air around himself that induced extreme paranoia, a ringing in the ears and nausea. He was convinced the man would look up to inspect his surroundings any second. _Oh, I'm going to enjoy this! _Within thirty seconds of thinking this, the man was only about ten meters away. Slenderman held in his breathe to puff out his chest and sprouted an array of thick and thin, long and short, straight and wavy tentacles from his shoulder blades and spread them out in all direction around him. Their slimy appearance and the orange glow of the street lights, gave off a spectacular effect, and Slenderman was quite proud of it.

The man looked up and sighted him; he stood rooted to the spot seemingly paralysed in fear. Slenderman could smell the man's terror and had to exert extreme self-control to not immediately lunge for him. The man stood still for a few moments before shakily lifting the object in his hands. A bright flash emitted from the device, it was taking a picture of the horrendous monster standing before him. Slenderman, in his life on earth had been photographed many times and he now knew that the object in the man's hands was a camera. Slenderman didn't liked being photographed very much, though it did prove beneficial on occasion.

He groaned. _That's another picture taken of me…; I really shouldn't let this happen so often. Well, _he thought, _what's the harm in another picture floating around? Most people will think it's fake anyway. _Slenderman knew some clever person will find it and look into it, but he knew he could always teleport to another country in a second.

With the decision made, he slowly started to advance towards the man who had been violently sick into the gutter next to him. He started walking slowly using his many tentacles to lift him off the ground, his long legs dangling in the air. The man looked up and wiped his mouth on his sleeve before hastily stumbling backwards, his eyes on Slenderman's non-existent face the whole time. He hit a street pole from behind and stopped, whimpering pathetically with spit dribbling out the corner of his mouth. His face showed horror like Slenderman had never seen before. He chuckled.

At this point Slenderman had caught up with him and his face was only a few centimetres from him. If he had a nose, his face would have been touching the man's. He grinned wider than any human could even dream of and showed the loudly sobbing man, his two rows of lovely white, sharp teeth. He laughed with cruelty in a deep baritone and reached forward to grab the man's collar. The male took in a long ragged breathe before slumping over and passing out, still in Slenderman's grip.

Slenderman, still beaming madly let go of his collar and turned the young man over to look at his face. He was pale with spit and puke all over his chin. It looked quite pitiful. Slenderman debated whether or not he should kill him. He decided to leave him, he'd had his fun. He also needed to get back to the girl, hopefully, she was still asleep.

_He really should have known better than to wander the streets alone the day six brutally murdered bodies were found. He didn't really deserve to live being so stupid. I'm being merciful. _Slenderman thought, disgusted with the poor show of bravery the man had to offer. Slenderman had encountered fathers, defending their daughters from him, sacrificing their lives to save their young ones and mere children who managed to evade him in the forest for days. They were the people he lived to hunt down.

He propped the human up, and carved his symbol onto the man's arm. He then wiped up the blood that poured out of his wound with the man's shirt sleeve. The mark served as a sign to other people that he had been here. It was like a ritualistic habit, meaningful, but also he did it without thinking. Plus, it served as a sort of mimetic mind trick. If anyone remembered the symbol, Slenderman could find that person, using his telepathic ability. Slenderman worked on belief and fear, even if it was only a slight inkling of doubt concerning his existence. It was why children were such an easy target and why he was able to attack that man before, his fear was so strong, he became a natural target. It was just the way Slenderman operated; he couldn't do anything to change that.

He picked up the object in the man's hand and discovered it was a communications device as well as a camera (_I see human technology has moved on again_, he thought) He stood, looking at the picture that had been taken of him. Of course, not without a few groans of frustration along the way, as his fingers were too large for the small buttons.

The photo was better quality than he thought it would be. It was in colour, had reasonably good focus, (considering how the device seemed quite old and beaten up) and gave quite an impressive view of his incredible height and many limbs. Content with the man's photographic abilities, he dropped the phone next to the man, letting it fall with a clatter. He turned and started walking away.

Pleased with the work he had done, he walked back to the still sleeping girl on the bench. He picked her up gently and held her upright so her chin was resting on his shoulder with her face pointing behind him.

She started squirming and eventually opened her bleary eyes. She said sleepily: "Slendy?" Slenderman shifted his head to get a better look at her face, "I'm still hungry."

"**Shh, I know. Go back to sleep, little one."** He brushed the girl's hair off his neck, and she hummed her thanks before resting her head on his shoulder again, falling asleep once more. He hummed a mellow tune in his head, enjoying the quiet streets and he continued to think about what he would do with her as he walked on down the road and around a corner. He considered getting some food in the morning before taking her home.

He walked the city streets, fighting off the urge to shiver in the cold, night air.

xxx

**Police News Report 24th of May 2013**

"The bodies of several women were discovered near Northumberland Park in Eastern Westlington, at ten thirty-five this morning. Residents heard screams and called police into the area. When the police discovered the six bodies they immediately closed off the park and a large amount of forest to investigate. The bodies had been scattered over a wide area of trees over twenty feet from the ground. Also, on each tree a victim was found on, a mark was carved into the tree using a sharp object. (*news reporter shows image of the carving*) Some residents of the area who were in the park at the time believed they heard a child's voice, though no child was found. Witnesses also claim that they had seen a very tall man in a suit walking around a park with a young girl.

The unknown man was also sighted in local forest areas and in the streets surrounding the park later today. The police have no leads yet as to how the murders were committed without being seen, and how the bodies were moved to be up in the tops of the trees. Information has been released to the public that this sort of crime has been seen before and the police are considering if these happenings are linked.

If you have any information about this occurrence, or recognise the marking, do not hesitate to call triple zero or visit the Crime Stoppers website. This is Richard Bentley, Channel Two news, signing off."

The man turned off his television, and leaned back in his chair comfortably. After a few moments, he set down his cup of coffee and grabbed his coat, slamming the door as he left. The man was excited. He had a new lead to follow.

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**AN: Don't forget to review! I welcome any and ALL constructive criticism! Please, guys seriously just one review would make me squeal like a child in delight! You would make my day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Woohoo! New chapter is up! Sorry it took so long, I got a bit busy with school :P Enjoy! Please review and tell me what you thought!**

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_Chapter 3_

_*Thoughts spoken by character are in italics*_

As Slenderman walked down the street, he looked at the little girl resting in his arms and contemplated what his day would have been like if she hadn't found him in the park yesterday morning. He would probably have watched the children on the playground for a while; or wander around the woods, searching for hikers or backpackers to play with. He could have done some art work with one of the local farmer's cows out in the countryside. He looked up at the dark sky and sighed wearily. Slenderman didn't need as much sleep as a human to operate, but he was starting to get tired nonetheless. He had been awake for over five days straight.

He didn't dislike the girl in his arms, though he found that she could be infuriating and whiny. But she was also a great opportunity. Slenderman couldn't remember the last time someone had been interesting to him. He had found people who were brave, or clever, or cunning but he had never found someone he couldn't understand. People were always so easy to decipher and classify; so they became boring very soon, he only ever stalked the people he found fascinating, but even then they soon lost their appeal, which was when he killed them. He did want to spend more time with her though, try and figure her out…there was something about her that greatly intrigued Slenderman, though he didn't quite know what it was yet. He didn't doubt her wanting to spend more time with him, though he did have a problem to think about. _Do I just take her with me, or leave her here in the town? I did agree to take her home…but will wanting to learn about her out rule out that decision?_

He came to a T-junction on the road and looked both left and right, deciding which way he should go. He didn't know which way to turn. He'd have to ask her where she lived when she woke up. He scolded himself for spending too much time in the forest and not enough in the town. _I really need to brush up on my knowledge of where all these roads lead_. He thought. While he was debating with himself on which way to go, he saw the leaves on the opposite side of the road shimmering. He looked to the right to see a pair of bright headlights heading his way. He stepped backwards off the road and watched as it drove past calmly. The car slowed down to a stop and a woman poked her head out of the window curiously. With a small shriek of surprise, she ducked back into her car and drove away, car tyres screeching.

He wasn't too fazed by this; he guessed she wouldn't tell too many people about him. The people she would tell would probably say it was her mind playing tricks on her or something; she'd eventually try and forget. _Why on earth would she try and forget a face as handsome as mine?_ Slenderman chuckled lazily to himself and continued ambling down the street, the child's head on his shoulder bouncing slightly. He pondered briefly why the woman in the car was up so early in the morning. He glanced at the girl in his arms.

_Should I drop her off at her house or go get her some food first?_ He thought. Remembering he didn't know where she lived he decided it would have to be the food. He readjusted the position of the girl snoring gently on his shoulder (making sure she wasn't drooling on his suit) and made a beeline for an adjacent bus station. The yellow bus stop pole had a bunch of maps in a little plastic pocket and he picked one up with a hand, wrapping a tentacle from his back around the girl's chest tightly. She didn't wake up and kept on snoring gently. He flicked through the pages of the small paper booklet and found a little knife and fork sign that according to the legend meant 'restaurant'.

Slenderman thought that going to a simple shop would be easier than going to a restaurant so he looked around, and thankfully saw that a general store was only just across the road. He dropped the map into a bin and crossed the street, girl in tow.

As he stood in front of the store deciding how to enter, the little girl awoke, yawing and rubbing her eyes. She looked around her confusedly, unsure about why she was high above the ground and not in her bed. She looked up, a smile on her face as soon as she recognised Slenderman. She hugged his tendril and greeted him happily. She squeezed him as tight as she could and let go, inspecting their surroundings.

She said loudly "Slendy! I'm starving! Can we get something to eat?" He nodded to her.

As she began another one sided conversation with him, he turned his attention to entering the shop without triggering the alarm he was certain it had.

"**Quiet little one**." She crossed her arms grumpily, but didn't say anything. He supposed he could teleport inside the shop and get what he wanted then teleport back out into the street, no problems. There was one challenge though; he would have to leave her outside the store. He was reluctant to do so, but it seems like the safest option.

Slenderman found when he was young, that humans don't cope as well with teleportation as his kind do. They can survive the journey, but the space jump does jumble up their insides and they can require some time to recover. Some are better at coping than others, but Slenderman didn't wasn't to risk having the girl bleeding out through all orifices when he didn't have to risk it. He placed her down on the ground and stared at the store, thinking. The girl looked up and saw the building in front of them was called 'Harrison's General Store.' She smiled to herself, her stomach rumbling in anticipation of food. Slenderman ordered for her to sit down and stay still, which she complied with obediently.

Just as he was about to disappear, the girl said shyly: "Can you please get me some marshmallows, Slendy? Please?"

Slenderman had no idea what marshmallows were_, _but he agreed. He disappeared and reappeared just next to the glass doors inside the shop. The girl jumped up from the floor and ran to the door, her face and hands pressed up against the glass. Her breathe created a mist against it. He pointed at her and shooed his hands, telling her to go away. Her face still grinning madly, she walked backwards away from the door, eyes unmoving from him and she went to sit down again.

Slenderman sighed and looked across at a security camera only a few metres away. He watched a little red light blinking on the camera, and then it suddenly stopped. He knew the camera was damaged beyond repair now and the data inside would be impossible to recover. He didn't exactly know how he was able to damage electronic devices; it was just something his kind could do. It did come in handy very often, which he was grateful for. Slenderman walked through the isles, curiously peering at different items and inspecting different cans and packets in his large hands. He glanced at some of the signs hanging from the ceiling and found the 'Confectionaries 'isle.

Slenderman presumed what she wanted was a sweet, as all children he met adored candies and he started searching. He walked along slowly, looking at every item so he didn't miss anything. He came to the end and turned around, looking through everything again. After his third rotation, and getting frustrated, he found what he was looking for. He snatched them up, glad that he had finally found them. Looking at the small packets squishy contents, he contemplated getting something for himself, and then decided against it; he didn't really like packaged food that much, beef tasted nothing like human.

He disappeared from the store.

While her Slendy had been inside the store, the girl had been playing with her shoe laces and managed to get them in a huge tangle. Her short fingers fumbled to undo the tight knots and after a few minutes of struggling and pulling, she gave up huffing in irritation. She recognised where she was, in fact her home was only a few blocks away. She could walk to it from here. She didn't get up though, because her Slendy told her to stay put and she didn't want to get him angry again like yesterday in the forest.

_That was really scary, _she thought, recounting when they all played Who Can Scream the Loudest? _Everyone was shouting…and…then….._She gave up thinking because she couldn't remember what happened next, and her head started hurting. She remembered being in her Slendy's arms for a bit, but then after that she woke in the forest, her Slendy digging around in the bushes for something. She shivered and watched her breathe rise in front of her face in a mist. She could see the sky start to brighten up, ready for sunrise, but it was still chilly. She continued to think about yesterday and she had just stopped her giggling from the memory of Slenderman hitting his head on a branch when he reappeared right in front of her. She jumped visibly.

"**SLENDY!** You scared me!" She squeaked. He didn't acknowledge her and dumped the marshmallows in her lap. She eagerly tore open the bag and dug her hand in, stuffing her face with the powdery sweets. Slenderman leant against the wall and looked at the street, rubbing a hand over his face. They were deserted and silent.

Her enthusiasm hadn't diminished in the minutes he was looking away. She shovelled in handfuls of the lollies eagerly and Slenderman was feeling sick just watching her do it. _That stuff must be packed with sugar. It looks absolutely repulsive_. The girl saw him staring, and she held out her sticky, wet hand holding a pink marshmallow in her palm.

Slenderman looked at the candy warily and picked it up; compressing it between his fingers and watching it change back to its original shape. It didn't look very appealing to him.

"You eat it Slendy. Go on, it's yummy!" He looked at her, trying to see if she was playing a trick on him. _Maybe she spat on it or something. _Eventually, and very reluctantly, he opened his mouth, and placed the marshmallow on his tongue. He closed his mouth and swirled it around, feeling its texture, consistency and taste. She watched him closely as his expression turned very quickly from wary to nauseated, his skin all screwed up and bunching in the middle of his face. She didn't know whether to laugh or feel angry as he stood up and spat it out into a bin. _He didn't like the food I gave him! I can't believe he spat it out!_ The girl thought, incredulous.

He came back and out stuck his bright red tongue, scraping all of the sugar off his tongue and out of his mouth. The little girl guffawed and he shot her a look that made her stop instantly. He wasn't able to get the taste out of his mouth and complained, spitting onto the pavement. The little girl was still convulsing in silent giggles when he gave up and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. He looked at her again and she struggled to keep her face neutral. Slenderman sighed and grabbed her arm, pulling her up to stand with him. She smiled at the contact; she was always one to like touch.

They started walking along the dirty footpath and after a few minutes, Slenderman realised he didn't know where he was. He immediately stopped and turned to her.

"**Where do you live?"** He asked her. She recited immediately: "Seventeen Kilgra Avenue, Westlington!" Her face dropped and she whispered quietly: "Are you taking me home Slendy?"

Slenderman didn't particularly care that she looked like she was about to cry. He nodded and she looked at the ground, scuffing her already mud caked boots in the dirt. Some of the mud had cracked and fallen off her pants during the night and her clothes were a disgusting mess. She looked a sorry sight, with a dirty, pale face, messy hair and muddy clothes. She also had leaves and bits of grass stuck in her hair. But he didn't care; he just wanted to get her home and go somewhere safe for a rest, coming back for her later. He was suddenly overwhelmed by fatigue and became frustrated. He didn't give a damn if she even got home or not, he'd had enough of her and her stupid complaining. He just wanted to be anywhere but with her!

He started marching away, furious. The girl was still standing by the tree and when she realised he was gone, she shouted for him to stop. When he didn't, she ran as fast as she could to catch up with him and sniffled quietly as they walked together. He didn't know and didn't want to find out why she was crying. He continued marching at a quick pace and after a few wrong turns, he found Kilgra Avenue. It was a long winding road with trees on both sides, the houses dingy and old. The sun had nearly risen and the sky was a bright flourish of oranges, purples and pinks. He decided to turn invisible to everyone but the girl as the sun slowly raised higher and higher, the chance of people coming out of their houses more likely by the minute. Slenderman, desperate to be rid of her, hurried along the road, picking the girl up with a tentacle from his back and wrapping it around her tightly. She shrieked and he covered her mouth as well. She struggled against him the whole time as he ran along the road, swinging his head left and right, checking the numbers. He had to be quick; it wouldn't be good if someone saw her floating in mid-air now he was invisible.

_1, 5, 13, 15, 17! Found it! _He ran onto the front garden and let go of the girl, letting her fall on the lawn with a flop. **"Go." **He said. She got up slowly, wiping her nose on her sleeve. He hurried her along to the front door. She turned around at the large front door and said hopefully: "You will come to see me again soon right? Please, Slendy?" Slenderman, desperate to get away and not make noise, slumped in defeat and nodded. He would visit **only** **once**….well… perhaps twice…Maybe in six months or so. Definitely not soon.

Her face split into a huge grin and she sprung up to hug him. He was hunched over so low, she managed to jump and wrap her arms around his neck, making him to lose his balance and stumble around. After finding purchase on the red brick wall, he used two tendrils from his back to prise her off of him. He was immeasurably stronger than her and she lost her grip quickly. While she was still chuckling with mirth at making him trip, he opened the front door and pushed her inside. He closed it with a soft 'click', and he leant against the brick wall, sighing and rubbing the back of his neck. He heard her yelling "MUM! DAD! I'm home!" as she ran through the hallways.

_Finally, it's done! _He peered around at the other gardens, and with the sky bright and the sun shining on the dewy grass, he teleported into the middle of his woods. He revelled in the sudden peace and quiet of his forest. He looked around him, figuring out exactly where he was. After three seconds of contemplation, he started in a direction, which to anyone, would look like rubble and wilderness, but to Slenderman, it was a very familiar path. He walked on the dirt and over fallen branches, taking in the fresh air and listening to the insects.

Slenderman adored his forest and viciously protected it. Anyone senseless enough to wander into it and damage the animals or plant life was either killed or forcibly taken and dumped outside again. It depended on his mood. He didn't care for the animals emotionally, but he enjoyed eating them and he didn't want poachers and tourists ruining that. After a few hours of walking, the sun had risen considerably and Slenderman was fast approaching the abandoned cabin he took refuge in, grateful to even have a cabin this close to town.

He wandered inside, his shoes clacking against the wooden floor. He sat on the old bed he made many years ago and took off his jacket, not bothering with his shoes or tie. A cloud of dust rose and hung in the air with every movement. Slenderman hadn't ever bothered with cleaning. He would have to clean the place up if he wanted to keep a girl here, he realised drowsily.

To make his bed, he had taken one from the guest room and pushed the two together, so he could stretch out comfortably. A layer of leaves had gathered on the blankets, blown around by the wind inside the old house and it crunched underneath him as he lay down. The last thing to run through his head before he fell asleep was:_ I forgot to ask for her name. _He was out as soon as his head touched the cold pillow.

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**AN: Please review! You have no idea how much it would help me with this story! Please tell me what you think I could do to improve!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello everyone! Thank you to the lovely people who reviewed and gave me tips, they are VERY much welcome and I appreciate it a lot!  
NOW ON WITH THE SHOW!**

**WARNING: Seriously creepy flirting.**

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_Chapter 4_

_*Thoughts spoken by character are in italics*_

"MUM! DAD! I'm home!" Josie yelled as she ran through the hallways. She ran past the living room and skidded to a stop, her muddy shoes flicking dirt everywhere. She ran back into the room breathlessly. Her parents were staring at her, dumbfounded. Cold cups of tea were on the table in front of them, balanced on small wooden coasters. They had been awake all night, wound up too tight to sleep. "Mum! Dad!" She cried. Sharon and Steven Periali looked flabbergasted as they stared at their daughter who had been missing for the past 24 hours. They had been worried sick about her, who knew what kind of creeps had taken her?

"MUM! DAD!" She ran up to her parents sitting on a sofa together and hugged them tightly. They let out choked exclamations of relief, while clutching her and stroking her tangled, muddy hair. They looked at each other, their bewildered expressions mirrored exactly. Josie wasn't let go for a long time, and when she finally was, questions from her parents bombarded her. Then a man Josie didn't even realize was in the room cleared his throat. Steven and Sharon feel silent immediately, looking at him expectantly.

"Now, now, Mr. and Mrs. Periali don't overwhelm her. Why don't we clean her up and give her something to eat. Then we can ask her what happened more formally? Mrs. Periali, Why don't we go into the kitchen and cook something up? Together?" The man gave a toothy grin and Mr. Periali shot him a look that made him cower in his seat.

"Yes, of course Sergeant," her dad said curtly, he turned his attention to his very much missed daughter, and he said fondly "we should clean you up, honey." Josie wasn't sure she understood what was going on. _Who is this man? Why do Mummy and Daddy look so tired? Why do they want to ask me questions? _The man looked kindly at her and she smiled back. She liked him already; she always liked people who smiled a lot, and this stranger never seemed to stop. He was wearing a suit just like her Slendy's, but this man's shirt had blue stripes and Slendy's was white without stripes. His shoes were pointed at the end just like her Slendy's too, but even sharper. It made him look like a big Christmas elf, and she grinned widely at the thought. "Why don't we get you cleaned up, now huh? You look pretty dirty." The man gave a friendly laugh and a cheeky smirk. She looked down at herself and giggled too, she was an absolute mess.

Mr. and Mrs. Periali took one of their daughter's hands each, still beaming down at her and they led her upstairs and into the bathroom with the tub. The man in the suit stayed in the living room and took out a note pad and pen, writing things down and texting on his phone. Sharon combed and washed Josie's hair in the tub while she laughed and played with all the bubbles, while her husband put the filthy clothes in the washing machine. He had to put her pants in the bin however, the bottoms were all shredded and had holes in them, and they couldn't be fixed. He did notice some black thread on the shirt. It looked like cotton but it felt more like leather, and was shinier. He put it in his pocket, promising himself to look at it more closely later.

Sharon continued to wash Josie's face while she talked animatedly about where she had been and what she did. Even though Sharon told her constantly to close her mouth because of the soap, she listened to every word intently. She didn't want to miss any of it, even though it all seemed like utter nonsense- fairy tale stuff. She did saw some remnants of marshmallow powder on the side of her mouth, and she cleaned it off without giving it a second thought.

Steven took over drying and dressing her in warm, clean clothes while his wife cooked up some sausages and toast for her in the kitchen downstairs. Sharon decided to prepare some toast for herself to eat. As she was spreading jam on them the man in the suit walked brusquely into the room and took a seat at one of the stools, smoothing down his greasy hair as he did so.

He cleared his throat and scratched his clean shaven chin before speaking. He took out his notepad and said oily. "So Mrs. Periali-"

"Oh, call me Sharon; I think Mrs. Periali is too formal." She said happily, chucking the dirty butter knife in the sink.

"Uh, yes… Well Sharon," He continued. "I'll need to contact the police station to inform them that your daughter has been found," Sharon nodded her head in understanding, consuming her toast with fervor. "And the police will also need her to issue a statement; you'll have to come down to this station this morning." Sharon's gaze from her toast shot up to meet his and the knowing smile dropped from his face. "What do you mean a statement? She isn't a criminal!" She said indignantly.

Sergeant Duran put his notebook on the table and leant forward, taking her hands in his with a feral grin on his face. She wrenched her hand out of his grip and leant against the bench behind her, not wanting him to be near her. "Well Sharon-" he began simply, as if nothing had happened.

"Please call me Mrs. Periali." She said coldly.

"Yes Mrs. Periali, but your daughter did disappear at the same time the murders occurred in Northumberland Park. It is very likely she could have been a witness. You don't have to have committed a crime to issue a statement for the police. Also, other people in the park said they saw a girl and a man walking around the area at the time. It could have been her."

Sharon calmed considerable and felt guilty for snapping at the Sergeant. Granted, he was creepy and kept flirting with her, but what he was saying about her daughter was true. It was a horrible thought to entertain that she might have witnessed not only one murder, but **six **and been with the (potential) murderer for a whole day. Just thinking about this Sharon felt like she was going to be sick, but she held onto her courage, holding it back and checked on the sausages, which were sizzling away merrily. She took out a plate from the cupboard above her head, set it on the table and promptly left the room, leaving Sergeant Marcus Duran to stare after her, a predatory look in his eyes.

Sharon went upstairs into Josie's room and stood in the door way laughing as her husband gave her an affectionate, but exasperated look. Josie was dressed in simple clothes and sitting between her father's legs having her hair done up. She kept wriggling and turning around on the floor telling her dad all the things she had seen and done with her 'newest best friend'. Steven was torn between being frustrated at all the wriggling or laughing at the exuberance in with which she told her story.

"Honey," Her mother moved to sit across from the grinning girl on the floor, "Why don't you tell **me** what you did today and sit nice and still for Daddy?" Steven gave her an appreciative smile.

"**Well,"** Josie started, drawing in a huge breath dramatically, enjoying all the attention. "I was wandering around the park yesterday when I saw a **reeeaaally **tall guy standing by the trees. Not like Daddy tall, he was **huuuuuggee**!" She gestured up to the ceiling, "I said 'hi' and when he looked at me I saw he had no face! It was just completely smooth skin." Josie smoothed her hands over her cheeks and nose. "He was also wearing a suit, like you used to Daddy! And then-" Josie was cut off by Sergeant Duran entering the room, talking animatedly into his mobile phone. He ended the conversation quickly and addressed the irritated girl.

"I'm very sorry to interrupt you're story Josie," He looked up to Mr. and Mrs. Periali, "But we need to head off now, I just called the police station and the Commissioner is available to take her statement. It's best if we do it as soon as possible so everything is still fresh in her mind."

"The Commissioner is getting involved? Isn't that a bit unusual?" asked Steven.

"It is a bit out of the ordinary, but it has happened before. He requested for this case specifically." Duran replied. Steven finished doing his daughter's hair, tapped her twice quickly and she hopped up, helping her mother up as well. Josie ran off downstairs and Sharon followed her, heading to the kitchen.

Steven, now alone with Duran for the first time since he entered his home, saw him watching Sharon as she left the room. He took a menacing step forward, purposely using his larger build to intimidate him. Duran shrunk down, and Steven said threateningly, punctuating every word clearly:

"**Stay away from my wife**." And he stormed out of the room, Duran following behind meekly. They entered the kitchen together. Sharon, seeing the nervous look on Duran's face gave her husband a questioning glance; he shook his head in response. Their daughter was sitting on the stool Duran occupied earlier and was jiggling her legs against the table, so happy to be home again. While she had had a lot of fun with Slendy, she did miss her Mummy and Daddy.

Sharon handed her a sausage in a wrapped up piece of bread and one piece of toast with butter smeared on it. Hungry again since the marshmallows, she opened her mouth wide and took a large bite out of the sausage. Her mother gasped,

"Josie! Don't, that's hot!" She opened her mouth, eyes wide and let the food fall off her tongue, landing with a wet plop on the table. Josie hung out her tongue over her chin, fanning it and Sharon gave her some water to drink. She gulped it down gratefully and blew on the sausage again before taking another bite.

"Heh, sowee Mum." She said through a mouthful of bread. Sharon nodded and cleaned up the half chewed food with a tissue. _Well, _she thought_, things haven't changed a bit (!). _Steven went into the hallway and gathered their coats. He didn't know how skinny little Josie survived the night in just some jeans and a t-shirt; it was freezing outside. _Whoever she was with must've given her something to wear_, he thought, shivering. Whoever had taken her had looked after her…why did he let her come back?

When Steven returned, Duran had his coat on and was waiting in the kitchen while Sharon cleaned the plate and glass. Steven could hear his daughter's footsteps moving around excitedly above him as she danced around. He smiled and was glad things were as they should be, except for the pervert in his kitchen, whom he saw eyeing up his wife again as she bent over the table top.

"Duran" he growled menacingly. He jumped and scuttled out of the kitchen and into the living room. Sharon turned around and smiled, rolling her eyes. "He's such a creep!" Steven nodded and helped her put on her coat, then helped his daughter as she wriggled around, trying to get a hug out of him. After a cup of coffee for Steven, they were ready to go.

Sergeant Duran climbed into his police car and drove off, the exhaust fumes coughing and spluttering smoke into the air. While the family of three following closely behind him in their small, dark green car. Their dingy, beaten up vehicle rattled along the cracked roads, kicking up dirt and pebbles, while the youngest of them happily rambled on about anything she could think of. The parents listened in silence, Steven driving and Sharon stroking her daughter's hair, only adding in occasional comments while she spoke. Mr Periali was anxious about Josie's tales of her adventures yesterday. While it could hold a certain amount of truth in it, he wasn't sure what the Sergeant and his Commissioner would think of it.

Westlington was only a small town and they reached the police station in less than ten minutes. Steven stopped the car in the parking lot and before the engine had even gone quiet, their daughter had dashed out of the car, and started running for the entrance. Sergeant Duran, having reached the glass door first, barred the way with his body. She pouted and crossed her arms, but he just leered at her. Sharon soon arrived and took her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze and walked inside, Steven in tow. Steven glared at him as he passed, _Stupid twit_, he thought angrily.

The police station was old and under funded by the state government. The once white walls were stained yellow from age and had cracks along the ceiling. The carpet was timeworn, thread-bare in some places where feet had taken the same paths for years. Some of the paint on the walls had chipped in areas where there had been drunken brawls and some of the chairs in the waiting area looked like it would break at any second. The people weren't much different.

Old employees, too sore to work in the field anymore took their place in the offices, filling in paper work and being assistants to higher up authorities. As the four of them walked past people in the hallway, you could hear some of the staff sighing as they began another long day. The white lights made the people look gaunt and pale, as if they lived in the building and hadn't left for years.

Josie held on tighter to her mother's hand as one particularly old man walked past, with his stomach hanging over his belt and coffee in his hand. His face sagged under the weight of his years, the lights making him look ill. Sharon looked down and smiled encouragingly at her, even though she wasn't feeling too much better.

Sergeant Duran led them through countless hallways and past numerous offices with their doors open. They had men and women speaking animatedly into their phones, or sifting through mountains of paperwork. As Steven looked at all these people, it made him glad he chose not to go into the force. He had had started out as an unpaid intern, but it wasn't the career he wanted. He eventually decided to go to trade school though, to become a builder. It wasn't a glamorous job, but it certainly paid well. His thought's drifted to the night he spent here in jail as a fifteen year old. He shuddered at the memory. Sharon was just glad she was a stay-at-home mother when she saw all the young girls with bags under their eyes and hair greying early from stress. She loved all the time she got to spend with Josie at home.

The youngest of them was busy looking at all of the cracks in the walls, afraid that the ceiling would give way and collapse on her. But every time she got scared, she would squeeze her mother's hand and she would squeeze her right back, reminding her that she was there, ready to protect her if anything happened. Sergeant Duran didn't think much about the police station anymore, he had experienced all possible emotions in the building and just wanted to retire early and leave. It was too late for him to study for a new career and his body had been ready to quit the force years ago. The only thing that kept him going at all was the house calls. Oh, yes, he enjoyed **them**.

After what seemed like forever, he led the three into a small, grey room with a metal table in the middle and a big, one-way piece of glass on one wall to the side of the table. Sitting at said table was a man and a woman. The woman was young and had dark skin her frizzy hair untamed. She had a cup of steaming coffee on the table and her slumped posture clearly said she thought it was too early in the morning to be working. The man was completely different. He sat up straight and was smartly dressed in a plain navy suit and white shirt. He wore a brown trench coat, even though the room was quite warm. His hair was light brown, but greying in large patches and his chin had slight stubble.

The man would have been in his mid-fifties and exuded authority. It flowed off of him in waves as he breathed slowly. His eyes spoke years of experience and things you wouldn't wish upon even your worst enemies. Steven stood up taller when he saw him, strongly reminded of an old headmaster from his childhood. Josie hugged her mother's leg, whimpering slightly.

He stood up and walked to Sharon and Steven. He ignored Duran and shook their hands, smiling warmly. Steven already didn't trust him.

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Periali," He grizzled, "I am Commissioner Charles Brontworth, but please call me Commissioner. May I introduce you to Dr Megan Post; she will assist me in conducting the interview today." He gestured across the table to her and she stood up, smiling kindly. She walked forwards and shook both their hands. She then hitched up her pencil skirt slightly and crouched down to look at Josie, who just smiled nervously at her. Josie could tell this was a nice lady.

"Hello darlin'. Me name's Megan, what's yours?" She had a funny cockney accent Josie liked and her voice was gentle, but smelt of coffee. She scrunched up her nose slightly.

"I'm Josephine, but everyone calls me Josie!" she said. She liked Megan **very** much. She knew Megan would be nice to her, unlike the other man who she glanced up to nervously. Megan smiled slightly and asked,

"How would you feel if you sat at the table with Commissioner Brontworth and me and answered a few questions?" Josie looked up to her parents uncertainly and the Commissioner said curtly. "Your parents will be in the room right behind this glass, they'll be able to hear and see everything going on in here. Sergeant Duran will be in there also." Sharon looked at her husband, letting him make the decision. He looked down at Josie and agreed reluctantly, still suspicious of Brontworth. He wasn't sure what put him on edge; he just gave off a bad vibe. As the three of them walked out of the room, Steven gave Duran a deathly stare.

With the recorder set to go and the Periali couple along with Duran behind the glass, Commissioner Brontworth spoke first in a monotone, as if he'd done this a million times. "The date is twenty-fifth of May 2013. The time is," He paused, checking his watch, "seven forty-five AM and this is Commissioner Charles Brontworth with Dr Megan Post interviewing Josephine Periali over her kidnapping and possible witness of six murders in Northumberland Park." He stopped and Josie sucked in a breath, shaking out of stress.

"Now Josie," He started, taking on a softer tone. Though he didn't quite manage it and he just sounded sinister. "How old are you?"

"Seven and a half." She answered shakily. Megan wrote something down. Then she spoke and she relaxed considerably.

"Josie, what did you do, from the moment you got to the park?" She readied her pen and Commissioner Brontworth shifted in his seat slightly.

"Well," She started nervously," When I got to the park I was with my Mummy and Daddy," She peeked at the glass window, only seeing her pale reflection due to the lighting, "I had played around for a bit by the trees and that's when I saw him standing only a little bit away."

"Who's 'he'? You're kidnapper?" asked Commissioner Brontworth immediately.

"He's not a kidnapper!" Josie said indignantly, "He's my **friend**! I wanted to walk around with him and he let me! We walked through the forest and we had loads of fun together! He even gave me marshmallows from Harrison's General Store and gave me his jacket when I was sleeping! It was amazing!" Megan scribbled quickly and Brontworth mumbled gruffly into her ear. Sharon gasped as she remembered the powder on the side of her face she washed off before. Steven face was stony. Brontworth then said,

"Of, course Josie, I'm sorry. What was he doing before you walked up to him in the park?"

"He was just standing there, watching the kids on the playground." Steven held his wife's hand tighter.

"Was he carrying anything with him? Did he have a bag or anything?"

"Nope, he wasn't holding anything." Josie started enjoy herself. She loved talking about her Slendy. Megan wrote something else down.

"Can you draw him for me?" Megan took out some paper and an assortment of coloured pencils from her briefcase.

Josie gladly accepted and while she was drawing happily, Megan and Commissioner Brontworth had a heated discussion, though Josie couldn't hear what they were saying. It seemed that Brontworth won the conversation as Megan's expression was peeved. Josie slowed down, adding the finishing touches on her picture; she held it up in front of Megan and explained what she had drawn.

"Here is Slendy, standing next to the trees at the park."

Megan asked, genuinely curious "Why are the trees so small? And where is his face?"

"Oh," she said happily, "That's his real height, he's **super** tall! And he doesn't have a face, just smooth, white skin." She gestured to her face like she did earlier with her parents. Megan looked at Commissioner Brontworth uncertainly, but he just stared at the drawing intensely as if it might sprout wings and fly away. Megan knew children sometimes got measurements wrong as they were so small and adults were so tall, and especially when recounted from their memories. The only logical answer she could get from this as a child psychiatrist was that Josie's subconscious changed the facts from a traumatic experience to make things easier for her to cope with, as if it was a fairy tale story. Obviously from Josie's exuberant demeanour, it had worked very well. _People just simply are not that tall in real life, and everyone has a face!_ She thought.

But Brontworth did not follow Megan's thought pattern. He knew of a foul being he had been hunting for nearly thirty years. And the disgusting creature matched Josephine's description to the dot. Megan got up from the table and stood by a chart on the wall next to Josie, opposite the one-way glass. "How tall was he Josie? Was he this tall?" She pointed to a mark that was six feet tall.

"Nope, taller." She said. Megan raised her arm to six foot two. Josie shook her head.

"Much taller than that, Megan!" Megan smiled doubtfully and raised her had to seven feet, standing on tip toes. She looked over at Commissioner Brontworth for help, but he just stared at Josie. Sharon and Steven watched intently from behind the glass curious about what would happen.

"Nu-uh, Megan! He was taller than that!" Megan couldn't reach any higher and brought her arm back down, sighing. Brontworth's hopes were rising, and he asked another question directed at Josie, who was giggling at Megan's exasperated expression.

"Are you sure this is correct Josie? Think very hard, is this correct?" He asked, pointing at the drawing, urgency in his voice.

"Yup, I'm sure that's right!" She replied cheerily, not understanding the severity of what she had just done. She had drawn him with his suit on, appendages coming out his back and no face, exactly like she remembered. She was proud of her handiwork.

"You called him 'Slendy' before, why?" said Commissioner Brontworth, insistence increasing with every word spoken.

"He told me a whole bunch of different names he had and one of them was…" She paused trying to remember it; Commissioner Brontworth's eyes bulged at the long pause. Everyone in both rooms seemed to hold onto their breath, the silence ringing in their ears. Sharon and Steven held onto each other firmly from behind the glass. Duran lent against the back wall with glazed eyes, unaware of the tension in the air.

"Oh, it was The Slenderman, Slendy is just my nickname for him!" said Josie happily. Brontworth sat back in his chair, satisfied.

* * *

**AN: YAY! We finally know the little girl's name! You guys have no idea how much I hated and (somehow) enjoyed writing Duran's character, he's such a delicious creep to write for! I have no idea how police investigations work, so I'm drawing my information from CSI type shows (which I know are fraught with inaccuracies sadly) and my own common sense (or what's left of it). I welcome advice if you think I did it wrong or I could improve :)  
**

**Reviews are like jam and cream on a scon! *licks lips, gazing into the distance longingly***


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry for the wait guys! I got kinda taken hostage by the Sherlockian inside of me...*sigh* it didn't end pretty or gracefully, just take a look at Foul Mouthed if you REALLY want to know what I mean...ANYWAY, enjoy! This chapter was written a bit more recently than the past ones, so I think it's slightly better in writing quality, but it's still far from perfect. Happy reading!**

* * *

_Chapter 5_

_*Thoughts spoken by characters are in italics*_

The abandoned cabin hidden deep inside the forest came to be in Slenderman's possession only twenty five years ago. At least two hundred years previously, when the area was first being settled by migrants, the forest stretched for miles around in all directions. A father and son had decided to make their home in the woods, surviving off of their bow and arrows, setting traps and using their knowledge of the plant life. They cleared a suitable area near a river, made a path to the main settlement and started constructing their cabin. With the help of some builders and a clever friend, the cabin was finished in just over a year. The father and son had fitted the home out to be just like a normal one, with a cooking space, two bedrooms, a living area to enjoy and a washroom. The father eventually died of old age and the son continued living in the cabin, stricken with grief and loneliness. He had no other family and soon fell into depression and suffered from extreme paranoia. He felt as if someone was always watching him.

On the anniversary of his father's death seven years later, he went into town, bought a gun from a local man and shot himself right there at the age of thirty seven. The house was forgotten and collected dust. It was found again one hundred years later, when the area was being cleared for the town of Westlington. A newlywed couple bought it for a cheap price, planning to rebuild and turn it into a home for them. They fixed the collapsed ceiling, eradicated the mould that had grown inside and strengthened the supports. Then they fitted in a simple, but functioning kitchen, added some generators into a new basement, (giving electricity and hot water) redecorated the bedrooms, turned the washroom into a bathroom with bathtub and shower and added in a small battery powdered radio for the living room. The couple were not rich and happily lived self-sufficiently, like how the father and son had done many years ago.

The pair lived in it well for four years, later moving out, complaining to their friends in town that the forest was haunted by a terrible ghoul. The couple had had enough and moved out after only living in it for five years. No one wanting to buy it and they had no children to leave it to so they had no other choice than to leave it. The couple mysteriously died soon after moving out. The cabin would have been left to collect dust again if Slenderman hadn't been watching and waiting. He moved into the cabin and added it to his collection, enjoying the hot water and connecting the two beds together in the master bedroom. Slenderman had been very patient in waiting for his cabin, manipulating each of the occupants in preparing it for him, readying it for his arrival. There was no way **the** Slenderman, Der Ritter, The Operator, Der Groββman, the murderer of children in the forest, would build his own home!

The cabin was extremely valuable to him; (even though he had multiple all around the world) it was priceless as a safe hiding place, and it came in handy every once in a while as somewhere to keep the children he stole away. The house was carpeted but the kitchen and bathroom had wooden floor-boards instead, and plain white walls all throughout the house, greyed from countless cold winters. The walls were empty, all the paintings and pictures taken down because he preferred them bare. The heating system was used rarely, as Slenderman never felt the cold around Westlington, but he was very thankful for the hot water in the sink as it was very effective for washing stained skin and relaxing tense muscles. The generator in the basement was always kept full with oil should he ever need it.

The first thing Slenderman noticed when he woke up was the rain outside. It gently patted against the tin roof of the cabin and dripped down the windows. He got up, and pulled down his shirt sleeves, which had ridden up during his sleep. Slenderman glanced at the analogue clock on the wall- it was seven forty-seven. He stood up and teleported right into the kitchen which was connected to the living room. Slenderman peered out of the window, assessing the weather. He was still half asleep and felt sore from all the running around with the girl yesterday. He could also feel a slight lump on his head from the tree branch he walked into. He sat in an old wooden chair by the window, staring into the grey, rainy forest. He decided to just stay inside and rest for the day. The chair creaked as he made himself comfortable.

xxx

"Oh, it was Slenderman!" said Josie happily. Brontworth sat back in his chair, satisfied. Megan let out the breath she was holding in, confused. Sharon and Steven in the other room behind the glass, hung loosely to each other, confused also. Sergeant Duran leant against the back wall in the room with the married couple, oblivious to the exchange that just happened. Josie swung her legs happily under the table, wondering what would happen next.

Brontworth stood up with a smug grin on his face, pressed the stop button on the recording device and faced the glass window. He nodded curtly and left, not waiting for anyone outside the room. He marched down the hallways swiftly and disappeared out of sight. Josie looked at Megan, who was staring alternately at the open door and down to the drawing in front of her. Josie was still smiling merrily, when Sharon and Steven entered the room, asking Megan multiple questions.

"Why did he go, Dr Post?"

"Has he figured something out?"

"What's the drawing got to do with this?"

"What's going on?" interrupted Josie, smile gone from her face. She could tell something was wrong by the way all three of them looked at her, not looking happy at all. Megan struggled for an answer.

"Well, uh...um…Well" She cleared her throat, getting her thoughts together, "I think Commissioner Brontworth just left the room momentarily to go…um…check something." Megan finished, somewhat lamely. Steven grabbed Josie's hand and said:

"Well, Dr Post, we'll be going now, if you need anything else, give us a call, I'll have my mobile," He started walking out of the room before turning around and saying, "and don't you dare think about sending **that pig **back to our home." He jabbed a finger at Duran behind the glass and promptly left the room, slamming the door. Steven was out of the room and halfway down the corridor before Megan could even reply. Duran just took out his phone, bored.

xxx

As soon as Brontworth was sure he was out of sight, he jumped up into the air and clicked his heels, grinning broadly. He set off at a fast jog down the hallways. He ran through countless corridors, shocking people as he raced past them. He reached his office panting but overjoyed at his discovery. _I __**knew **__the kidnapping happening on the same day as __**six**__ murders was __**his**__ doing! I'd recognise that symbol anywhere! Plus, there was that woman from the forensics department; she said she saw a tall man on the side of the road holding a girl when she drove to work early this morning! There was a brawl in the outer suburbs, practically across the street from Harrison's General Store as well! _

_Though, _he reasoned with himself, _that could have been a chance assault. But why suddenly all the activity now? He's been practically silent for years, why start up again so suddenly? _He thought back to the little girl, how she was so happy talking about The Slenderman and the way she had apparently just **sauntered on** up to him.

_Maybe it's got something to do with her…_ he wondered, considering his options. He sat down in his chair, and after arranging all the currents facts in his head, he decided the best course of to take for the moment, was to organise a time alone with the Periali girl and view the security tape from the general store. If he knew his facts correctly (which he was certain he did) the footage should distort and cut out as soon as The Slenderman appeared, but if he hired a specialist, he could try and recover at least some film. He had never been able to get his hands on material that he was certain was **real** before. He was brimming with excitement by the time he picked up his phone, shouting at his secretary to get the Periali family on his line.

After profusely apologising and with some very clever persuasion with a certain level of intimidation, Brontworth managed to arrange an interview with Josie alone, under the condition that he was on camera.

He haggled with Mr Periali and managed to get some time with her without their conversation recorded. As soon as the other end of the line hung up, he was dialling the number of the general store, which was apparently visited by The Slenderman (according to the girl). The manager agreed to give him a copy of the security footage from last night, though he adamantly said he had no break in.

Brontworth was grabbing his coat and running out of his office again before his secretary even had a chance to ask where he was going in such a hurry. Brontworth pulled up to the curb in his police car and smelled the fresh air. It smelt like promise. As he marched through the front doors, the man behind the counter greeted him and Brontworth held up his badge as a greeting. The man behind the counter had saggy and wrinkly skin, with fluffy white hair and tufts coming out of his ears. The man said,

"Oh, of course Commissioner, here's the footage you asked for. It goes from the time I closed yesterday to opening this morning." Brontworth accepted the DVD from the manager, Mr Wicker's hands and thanked him stiffly. He swiftly left the store and went home to view the DVD.

xxx

Josie sat in the car, listening to her Dad rant. Sharon just listened and tried to calm him down, he was driving after all and he was swerving like a madman. They were going to get sent back to the police station!

"I mean, it's just ludicrous! The way Brontworth acted in front of Josie was unacceptable! Dr Post was nice though; don't get me wrong about her but, oh, ho, ho…." Josie didn't understand what was going on because her father was talking so fast. But that didn't stop her from trying. Her dad continued, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.

"Did you **see **the way he just stormed out? He didn't even tell us where he was going or what he learnt! And don't get me started on **Duran!** He-" His wife interrupted his outburst. "I do feel sorry for Dr Post, she obviously had no clue what was going on, but I think she dealt with the situation well though, and she was very nice to Josie. Wasn't she honey?" Sharon turned around in her seat and gave Josie's knee a playful squeeze. Josie blew a kiss that her mother caught in her hand. Steven just grumbled something that sounded like "Yeah, but….Brontworth…." The rest of their drive home was silent, occasionally broken by Steven's grumbles of shoddy police work and children's drawings.

When they arrived home, Josie ran into her dad's office before he could stop her. She grabbed some pieces of paper from the printer and raced up the stairs to her room. Her mother yelled for her to slow down and that she would end up killing herself. _She's so dramatic! _Josie thought. She sprinted into her bedroom, jumping up onto the chair in front of her desk and smacked the paper onto the table, panting. She took a few deep breathes and picked up some of her coloured pencils from a pot on her desk, and started to draw.

Steven walked into the kitchen downstairs; Sharon was getting two mugs out of the cupboard and had flicked the kettle on. Steven walked up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She turned around and hugged him. Sharon said, choked up, "I'm just so glad Josie's home. I was worried sick about her." She clung tightly to Steven and he stroked her head. He whispered into her neck,

"I know…I was worried too." The kettle finished boiling and Steven went to make them both coffees. Sharon sat down at the bench. Sharon heard Josie laughing loudly upstairs and asked Steven what she could be doing up there. After listening for a few more seconds, Josie's exuberant laughter getting louder and louder, he eventually said, "I really don't know, but if it was anything bad, she would have told us by now. You know her, she's like an open book; you can always have a pretty accurate guess at what she's thinking at any given time."

Josie continued giggling upstairs; laughing triumphantly at the picture she had drawn.

xxx

Slenderman had sat at his window for hours in a cycle of dozing, staring blankly out the window and getting lost in his own thoughts. He wasn't sure what to do with himself.

He still had a headache from yesterday, and he contemplated taking something for it, but he decided against it, too sore to move. After centuries of teleporting everywhere, he wasn't surprised that twenty four hours filled with physical travel would leave him useless. He knew he would have to improve. He sat still for another hour and considered taking a walk. But he knew just taking a slow stroll around the forest would be out of the question, it was still raining and he was enjoying having a day in. He stayed in the cabin all day and by the time darkness had come he was lying down on the couch, hands covering his face and feet dangling over the edge.

He no longer had a headache, but the lump on the side of his forehead was painful to touch. He stood up from his chair and stretched, hearing the satisfying click of ligaments falling into place. He ambled into the kitchen and searched all the cupboards for painkillers. The only things in them were non-perishable food such as cans and dried fruits. He kept them for when he had children in his cabin. He clicked his tongue at his non-existent stock of pills. They would have to be replaced.

He considered about going out and stealing some painkillers, weighing the pros and cons. He quickly came to a decision. Essentially, he was going to go to another country, some place where it was still night, but wouldn't be aware of the killings in Westlington. He considered all the different countries. He ended up picking Ireland randomly and he readied himself. When he was sure he had everything he disappeared from the cabin kitchen. He instantly reappeared on a wet, asphalt road. He spun around, performing an environment check. He made himself invisible and walked along the road, reassured by his extraordinary memory that he was going the right way to a small village. He cursed when it a drizzle began; soaking his clothes slowly and making him shiver. He would have to be quick or he would be too weak to teleport back to the cabin. He didn't have another one in Ireland.

After a few minutes of walking he stopped, realising he could just teleport right into the building. He sighed, angry with himself for his lack of thought and he teleported. He appeared right outside a pharmaceutical and crouched behind a hedge. He peered through the leaves, and upon seeing no light inside, he ran inside, unlocking the electrical security system. He took off his sopping jacket, draping it over counter and he scanned the shelves. After skimming a while, he remembered that any strong drugs would be behind the desk. He wandered over, cursing his aching calves and sat on a chair, bending over and looking under the counter. He quickly found some painkillers and opened the package. Slenderman fiddled with the foil they were in and managed to break out a large handful of pills from their blister packets.

Slenderman didn't have to worry about taking too many; these types of mass produced drugs were no way near strong enough to do any damage. He opened his mouth and swallowed them all, taking them dry. He grabbed a fistful of packets in his large hands and made his way from out behind the counter. He was about to leave when he hesitated. _I might as well see if there's anything else useful here. _He scanned around the store, thinking about what he had in the cabin. He turned his back on the door and picked up a few bandages and some bottles of antiseptic. It was always handy to have some simple first aid things, even if he wasn't sure when he would need them. Slenderman wasn't much of a medical man, that more his brother's area.

With his pockets full of pain pills and arms laden with bandages and bottles; he teleported soundlessly out of the store, not noticing the camera blinking in the corner of the room. He arrived back in his cabin. The wind had picked up in his absence and it rattled against the glass, rain lashing the sides of the building. His wet clothes made him feel cold and slightly muggy. He emptied his arms and pockets onto the kitchen bench, changed his clothes and lay down on the couch, his head already feeling better, but boredom taking over. He hated not being able to do anything. He could feel the drugs slowly start to take effect and he breathed a sigh of relief.

**2 weeks later**

Brontworth was in his car, racing over to the general store, he was shaking he was so happy. He had to calm himself down to keep him going in a straight line on the road. He finally had a promising lead in his hunt for **the** **infamous** **Slenderman**!

The security footage from the general store had come up empty, but that didn't matter. He had something **much **better now. When Brontworth put the DVD in his player, there was about three hours of footage showing the empty store, then, and with the help of his computer whiz' nephew, Brontworth was able to slow down the video see about half a second of The Slenderman teleporting into the room. And the screen became garbled, a strange, twisted version of the shop. The room looked normal enough, but some things were wrong, like the words on signs were incomprehensible and some items had fallen onto the floor or had been opened. When he had tried to replay it, it didn't work. His computer had died and the screen went black.

The DVD was ruined, as if it had been scratched. Infuriated, he had gone back to Mr Wicker and requested another copy. Disbelieving, he played the DVD in his own player in the back room, only to have to system short circuit. Steamed billowed out of the back, like when water was poured on hot coals. They had both ran out of the room and Brontworth sprayed it with a fire extinguisher, just to be safe. The DVD hadn't even given him anything useful, Brontworth already knew The Slenderman could teleport, he had discovered that when perusing him once over the disappearance of a boy in Switzerland. He had been running through some empty streets when The Slenderman had just vanished into thin air-where, he could not say.

While the store was getting their walls replastered, Brontworth had interviewed Josie Periali. He believed it to be a screaming success.

-Start Flashback-

Josie sat at the interview table, terrified. Commissioner Brontworth was at the table also, sipping his bland coffee with his eyes trained on Josie. He waited for her to say something but she just sat there, silent. Brontworth made Josie scared; he looked mean and bad-tempered. Megan was nowhere to be seen which made Josie nervous.

Josie hadn't seen or heard from her Slendy in a fortnight. For two weeks she had looked over her shoulder constantly, stared out of her window at night and listened for anything. Anything that would mean her Slendy was back. He had promised that he would return! She remembered that clearly. Her hope hadn't diminished, but she started getting impatient. He said he would come back, and she believed he would, so why was he taking so long?

As Josie's gaze wandered around the room uncertainly, Brontworth realised she wasn't going to initiate conversation, he would have to do it. He rested his tea on the table and said,

"So Josie, what did you do with your **friend** on your day out?" He accentuated the 'friend' part sarcastically, but Josie missed the insult. She replied timidly,

"Well, we um…We walked around the forest a lot together and, umm," Brontworth urged her on irritably with his hand, "h-he, he gave me some marshmallows. He ate one too, but I don't think he liked it very much." said Josie, smiling shyly. Brontworth found this fact interesting. He didn't know he could eat, he had just assumed The Slenderman did something else with the children he stole away. It also meant that he had an opening in his face. He didn't know how this was possible though, he had never even seen a hair on that head, let alone a mouth. Josie continued, gaining more confidence as she spoke.

"It was really funny, the skin on his face all screwed up and he spat out the marshmallow into the bin. But I don't think he found it funny at all, he looked angry when I laughed." Brontworth asked immediately,

"Do you remember which bin he spat into?" He said, ignoring her observation.

"Yeah," she said, "It was the one right outside the store he got the food from!" Brontworth became feverish with excitement. _That means there is a possible sample of The __**Slenderman's**__ DNA out there! And in a bin of all places! I hope it hasn't been contaminated."_ He jumped up out of his chair and abruptly left the room. His trench coat swirled in the air as he hurried down the corridors, much like after the first interview. Josie sat at the table, unsure of what to do now that he was gone. She timidly walked out of the room and wandered around the hallways until she came across a young policewoman on her lunch break. She directed Josie into the waiting room where her parents were sitting anxiously. Steven had been blind with fury at Brontworth on the drive home.

-End Flashback-

The Commissioner arrived at the General store in his car. The manager walked out of the doors, welcoming him inside warmly when Brontworth said pointedly,

"No, I don't think I'll come inside Mr Wicker, but I would like to take a look through your trash here." He pointed to the bin and the old man looked confused, swaying slightly in indecision before saying dumbly,

"Uh, okay." Brontworth pulled on some gloves from his trouser pocket and a plastic zip-lock bag and a sterile swab. He put the items in his coat pocket and searched through the rubbish, carefully overturning different items, inspecting all of it carefully for any marshmallow remnants. He had over half of the contents out of the bin out on the floor; when his heart leapt into his throat and started beating erratically. He picked up what seemed to be a used tissue with a glob of some strange gloopy substance clinging to it. It was clear like human saliva and had a pink tinge to it in some parts, which Brontworth guessed was parts of the half chewed marshmallow. His hands were shaking with delight.

"Commissioner Brontworth, I trust you're going to be putting that trash back into the bin?" asked Mr Wicker sternly, looking over the top of his thick lensed glasses. Brontworth wasn't paying attention to him and mumbled,

"Mm, yeah, sure." Mr Wicker walked back into the shop, exasperated with the arrogant man. Brontworth started whistling a happy tune to himself as he put as much of the saliva as he could into the zip-lock bag using a long swab. He was careful to not get any onto his clothes, as he didn't know what properties it had and how it would affect him. Brontworth had read the possibilities and theories of The Slenderman being radioactive, and whatever he had close contact with (such as the children) becoming sick or infected from this radioactivity. Brontworth didn't rule it out as impossible, as anything could be the case with this creature, He took great care in transporting the DNA back to the Evidence and Research Laboratory (ERL) safely.

He filled in his name and the date into a roster for the use of the laboratories and was very happy to see that no one was working in the entire building at the time. He booked the use of the whole laboratory for the day and the next three. As Commissioner he could pretty much do what he liked in the laboratories assigned to him unless someone complained or he went over budget. He thought about what he would need for the analysis of the saliva. After a few minutes of writing down notes and mumbling to himself, he had an epiphany. He fumbled for the phone in his pocket and dialled the number of two associates he was sure would help him.

Michael Chamberlin and Devin Frame were exceedingly influential and high earning politicians in the Federal government. Brontworth in his early days of being Commissioner had saved them both from being exposed in a human trafficking charge that if it had gotten out into the public, would have devastated their positions in the government and ruined their chances of ever getting another decent job. That was over twenty five years ago and Brontworth was ready for them to return the favour. He needed their funding and intelligences.

Chamberlin had graduated from university with a master's degree in chemical and biological sciences while Devin Frame had been in the army for several years, and was tremendously rich. Brontworth knew they would do whatever he wanted, and if they didn't, he could ruin their careers with a single phone call and no one would believe them if they ever accused him of any wrong. Brontworth doubted they would do that though; they certainly weren't the kindest men in the government and had a history of dirty dealings, black mail, bribes and violence. The two worked well together and covered for each other if one was ever in trouble. _No, _he thought deviously, _they'll enjoy what I've got in store for them. And they wouldn't dare risk their reputation._

Chamberlin agreed to be with him by the end of the day, as he was in a meeting and didn't know when it was going to finish, but Frame said he could come immediately. Within an hour, Frame was walking through the doors, looking around curiously at all the equipment in the room. Frame wasn't stupid, but he wasn't as smart as Chamberlin. He knew when he was being double crossed or given a bad deal and that was what made him so successful in business. Also, he didn't offer a bad bribe for someone higher up than him.

Devin Frame was a large man with huge arms, a big torso and meaty legs. Tattoos riddled his body and you could see some of the tattoos on his neck where his collar didn't cover them.

"Ah, Commissioner Brontworth," he said, his deep voice vibrating in Brontworth's ribcage, "long time no see, eh?" Frame and Brontworth greeted each other with a firm, friendly handshake. Brontworth replied heartily,

"Frame! How good it is to see you again! Now, I have some very interesting work for you. Are you able to take a break from the office and join me for a few months?" Frame scratched his bristly chin, thinking. After a few moments he said, "Well, that depends on how long you'll be needing me." Brontworth replied,

"Ah, see that's where things become interesting." Frame's curiosity suddenly became apparent, "The job I have in store for Chamberlin and you requires a bit of hunting down." He paused, watching his reaction. Frame seemed very attentive and Brontworth decided to tell the rest of what was involved when Chamberlin arrived, it would be much easier if he said what they were doing when they were together. Plus, Brontworth always enjoyed watching Frame squirm when he was powerless.

Michael Chamberlin strode through the sliding doors of the laboratory confidently at seven that night, not glancing once at the strange medical and scientific instruments around the room. He had seen and worked with them all when he was studying. Frame was wandering around the room, looking at different items and Brontworth was filling in paper work.

"Commissioner Brontworth, I should have known I would find you poring over paper work, just like the last time we worked together." Chamberlin wasn't wearing glasses at the time, but there was a pair hanging around his neck, bumping against his button up shirt. He was nowhere near as strong as Frame, but what he didn't have in brawn; he easily made up for it in brains, and then some. When Chamberlin walked into the room and said his greetings, Brontworth knew he was no longer the smartest man in the whole block. He looked up from his papers indifferently and saw him striding towards him. He looked back down at his desk again, saying in a deadpan,

"How good of you to finally join us Chamberlin. Frame was running out of equipment to gawk at." Devin grumpily told Brontworth to shut up, still examining a microscope and Chamberlin laughed. He sat down at the table and Frame joined him, sitting side by side. Brontworth took off his reading glasses and put them in his breast pocket calmly. Frame leant forward in his seat, eyes wide with excitement. He looked like an overgrown child waiting for news about a trip to Disneyland. Chamberlin had waited for less time than Frame and he leant back in his chair steadily, surveying the Commissioner carefully.

"Now, dear children, I have an incredibly important job for you. This is top secret, you don't let anyone know about this or I **will **tell all everything to the media. That includes your daughter's little, uh… mishap, Frame." Frame's bristled at the remark and Chamberlin looked at him inquisitively, but Frame's unnerving glare didn't falter, "I have a two part job for you, part one is the live capture of a creature, and the second part is analysis, down to the very last detail. It will not be an easy task, it will require you're entire focus and I will reward you greatly if you do well." Frame spoke up, completely defusing the tense moment.

"Wait, so you want us to capture a thing, like, big-foot or something?" Brontworth thought hard for a few moments,

"I guess you can say that. And I've got just the thing to get us started." He held up the bag of saliva, with the remnants of marshmallow still inside it. Chamberlin leant forward in his chair, fascinated by the task he had ahead of him.

* * *

**AN: SO THE PLOT THICKENS! MWAHAHAHAH! I've got about one chapter to show after this that is already written...and then there's nothing. Don't take this to mean that I've given up, but I only have a vague sense of where this is going and to be honest, others things have captured my attention. I WILL come back to this, I promise!**

**Don't forget to review and tell me how I'm going! Maybe a few ideas for plot...please?**


	6. NOTICE-Retreating Shadows: Part 1

**AN: Hey everyone! NO, this isn't a new chapter-but I have something even better for you!**

**I've started Part 2 on this story and it's all posted and ready for your viewing! Go ahead! Read, enjoy, and have a jolly time reviewing for me! (*wink wink*) Please read the message at the beginning I wrote for you guys, its got some important information!**

**(Do you guys think I use too many exclamation marks? I'm always so excited about stories they always seem necessary...!)**


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